2025 MURAL SPECIES!
canada lynx
Ojibwe: Bizhew
Latin: Lynx canadensis
STATUS:
US STATUS: LT - Listed Threatened
MI STATUS: E - Endangered (Legally Protected)
ARTIST:
BUNNIE REISS
Bunnie Reiss is a multifaceted visual artist known for her murals, sculptures, and mosaics. Her brightly colored folk murals decorate many countries and can be found in Los Angeles, Mexico, Italy, Paris, India, Philippines, Detroit, Milwaukee, New York, and San Francisco. She holds an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and has lived, worked, and created all over the world, including in rural Colorado, France, Los Angeles, and for over twenty years in the Bay Area. Bunnie currently lives and creates in a small desert town just outside of Joshua Tree National Park, where she is slowly building up a five-acre property known as Lilac Lane Farms.
Find more of Bunnie’s work here!
EDUCATOR:
ABBY FISCHER
Abby Fischer is a professor at Grand Valley State University in the biology department. Two-time alum from GVSU and a life-long resident of the state of Michigan, Abby has a passion for ecological conservation and hopes to use environmental education to share her knowledge and love of the natural world. With a focus on inclusion and belonging, she strives to create a classroom environment where everyone is welcome to learn what they can about biology and science.
Visit our Canada Lynx mural in downtown Grand Rapids at 56 Front Avenue NW!
Description:
The lynx is a medium-sized cat 2.5 to 4 feet long with girzzled, silvery-gray fur, prominent, long black ear tufts (2 inches long), and a short stubby tail that is completely black at the tip. Tracks are large, averaging 3.7 inches wide and 4.5 inches long for front paws and 3 x 3.1 inches for rear paws. Pads are usually round and unlobed; unlike canids (dogs), all felid (cat) tracks generally have no claw marks.
Habitat and Occurrence
If you’re looking to find a Lynx for yourself, check within the following ecosystems within the green counties on the map!
All information on this page is generously provided by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI). For more information about Lynx - visit the species description here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/lynx. To learn more about Michigan’s biodiversity, ecological communities and natural heritage, visit mnfi.anr.msu.edu
get involved with lynx conservation!
While there are currently no Community Science projects specifically operating to benefit the preservation of Lynx in Michigan, there are many organizations who work to protect the habitats where it resides! Volunteer with some of these organizations and help protect the habitat that Lynx needs in order to survive.
report an observation
MNFI stewards the Michigan Natural Heritage Database and track observations of some of Michigan’s rarest forms of life to fully understand the population and range of rare species to protect biodiversity in Michigan. If you have encountered a Lynx, you can share the location information with these trusted conservation professionals here: mnfi.anr.msu.edu/species/report